John Rogers never wavered in his approach to entice teachers to Thomas Heyward Academy.

The Ridgeland private school doesn’t offer high salaries or health insurance or retirement benefits, but Rogers believed he had an unquestioned sales pitch.

“You sell them on order,” Rogers said.

Rogers, 70, is retiring at the end of the school year after 37 years as Thomas Heyward Academy’s headmaster.

He started in education in 1965 at Bluffton High and was named teacher of the year at Ridgeland High in 1967 and coach of the year at Ridgeland in 1968. He was Hardeeville Elementary School’s principal for three years beginning in 1973 and in 1976 Rogers was hired as Thomas Heyward’s headmaster. In 1988 Rogers was named S.C. Independent School Association headmaster of the year.

Along each stop he preached discipline.

“You tell them that you can teach these children, they will behave,” Rogers said. “Until you have order, you have nothing.”

It didn’t take long for Rogers to showcase his edict.

Within weeks of his Thomas Heyward tenure he told students not to play tackle football on the grounds. The games tore up their clothes, damaged the yard and the kids could get hurt.

One day he looked out his window and saw a football flying through the air.

He grabbed a paddle.

“I lined about 27 of them up and paddled all of them in the front yard,” Rogers said. “I don’t know if they thought I was either crazy or mean, but I told them what they couldn’t do and they did it and there had to be a consequence for it.”

Paddling is no longer used for punishment, but Rogers said “the message is the same.”

Thomas Heyward senior JD Tuten, a Thomas Heyward student since K4, said students make sure to pull up their pants and tuck in their shirts, but he understands the rules all support learning.

“He wants you to do your best,” Tuten said.

One of the ‘greatest decisions’

Rogers grew up in Columbia, attended Dreher High, and graduated from The Citadel in 1965. He planned to go to law school, but after graduating college he and some friends traveled Europe. When he returned, Rogers hadn’t applied to law schools so he instead sought teaching jobs.

After a year in Bluffton, he went to Ridgeland to teach history and coach basketball.

“Well, I fell in love with teaching and coaching and that was the end of the law,” Rogers said.

He was an assistant football coach at Ridgeland and led the basketball program and when he moved to Hardeeville — a place he “thoroughly enjoyed” — he caught the eye of Thomas Heyward co-founder and board chairman Henry Fickling.

“I had followed John and what he did and was very interested,” Fickling said. “John moved that school forward when he went down there. He did an excellent job.”

Fickling made Rogers an offer, one that paid him about $3,000 more per year. Rogers was married and had three children. He aspired to be a college coach, but he couldn’t turn down the offer.

He also sought a change for his daughters’ education.

“With three daughters, I felt like my daughters needed a different environment,” Rogers said. “I was beginning to sense a direction I didn’t like in the public schools.”

In 37 years at Thomas Heyward, Rogers said he’s proud that 90 percent of students from each graduating class go on to four-year colleges, including Duke, Clemson, South Carolina and the service academies.

“One of board’s greatest decisions ever was to bring John in as headmaster,” Fickling said.

Discipline remains. Rogers doesn’t agree with out-of-school suspension. Instead, disciplined students spend a day cleaning bathrooms or locker rooms or sweeping the halls.

Philip Rhodes has known Rogers since 1966, when Rhodes was a forward on Ridgeland High’s boys basketball team. They always stayed in touch and in 1987 Rhodes began coaching Thomas Heyward’s B-team. From 1989 until 2012, Rhodes coached boys and girls varsity basketball teams and won 274 games.

But Rhodes remembers those B-team days and the Monday phone calls with Rogers.

“I’d get a critique,” Rhodes said. “He was real good after the fact.”

When they were younger Rogers usually prevailed in tennis matches. But the pair often golf together — most recently the Friday after Thanksgiving — and Rhodes said Rogers doesn’t like to lose. He keeps a close eye on the scorecards, but sometimes Rhodes steals a round.

“He doesn’t always win in golf, that’s a nice thing,” Rhodes said.

Discipline follows Rogers on the course, with his meticulous detailing of strokes and golf’s rules.

“He’s known throughout the state as having a school with polite students and people look at our school as being well-disciplined and that starts with John,” Rhodes said.

Not through with education

Rogers’ retirement might not end his time in education. He said he’s been asked to serve on the state board of education and thinks he will eventually be a part-time history or political science teacher. He’ll keep an eye on the public schools and wishes Jasper County School District Superintendent Vashti Washington “a lot of luck because we need a viable public school system.”

Marilyn Davis was recently hired as new head of school. She officially begins June 15.

Rogers is excited for the school’s future. He believes Davis will help raise money, offer more courses and increase the school’s involvement in state-related activities.

He thinks Davis will continue to have the support of the school’s board of directors, something he cherished.

“This community should be proud that from Day 1 they’ve had good board leadership,” he said.

Rogers leaves as a local icon.

“Anytime a legend walks away you have to be sad about that,” Rhodes said. “He’s been Mr. Thomas Heyward.”

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There were over 21,000 incidents of schoolchildren paddled in Georgia schools last year! U.S. Schools must Honor Sandy Hook victims by Abolishing Corporal Punishment, Stop Hitting Schoolchildren! Sad how NONE of the Media coverage includes the Fact that at the Groundbreaking Senate Hearing to End School-to-Prison Pipeline held 12/12/12 ACLU recommended enacting Federal Bill H.R. 3027 "The Ending Corporal Punishment in Schools Act", already Illegal in Schools in 31 U.S. States and Prohibited by Federal Law for use against convicted Felons in ALL U.S. Prisons, Cost $0! 19 U.S. States legally allow schoolchildren Kindergarten through Twelfth grade to be beaten with thick wooden paddles to inflict Pain as Punishment for minor infractions with No Safety standards to protect children from excessive force injuries or to prevent sadistic pedophiles from filming and sharing their perverse pleasure! See brutally violent injuries to schoolchildren from U.S. Public School "Paddling/Corporal Punishment" at YouTube Video trailer for Documentary Movie "The Board of Education" by Jared Abrams . Search "A Violent Education" 2008 Study by Human Rights Watch and ACLU for disturbing facts! dont hit students dot com Corporal Punishment is not good for children it leaves many injured, degraded and disengaged from school, it must raise blood pressure of school employees, it puts taxpayer funds at risk of lawsuits like the Half a Million Dollar lawsuit recently filed against Cumberland County, TN schools because a coac paddled a student who was on "No Paddle" list due to previous head injury and could have died from further injury to his spine. Why doesn't ayone want to acknowledge the ugly Truth that adults entrusted with our children's safety in school must terrify our children with even the threat of vioence? How on earth do schools in 31 U.S. states that have outlawed Corporal Punishment of children operate everyday?